INT’L WINDMAKERS FIGHT CHINA, RULES FOR RIGHT TO BUILD

Foreign firms cry foul over China wind power rules
May 13, 2009 (Reuters)

SUMMARY
Rules China put in place to protect its domestic wind manufacturing industries from foreign competitors may be hampering its manufacturers’ efforts to get a foothold in the international market. This slowing of Chinese turbine makers’ growth could slow China’s development of wind capacity.

China’s official position is there is nothing problematic about its rules but they have effectively impeded foreign manufacturers, reportedly preventing them from competing for "national-level concession projects…" Chinese manufacturers (like Goldwind and Sinovel) are getting 65% of the Chinese market while international giants (like India’s Suzlon, Spain's Gamesa and Denmark's Vestas) compete for the other 35%.

2 of the top 5 world performers are China companies. (click to enlarge)

One of the biggest obstacles to foreign manufacturers is regulatory changes. When the central government sees foreign companies meeting standards, it stiffens them.

First example of a regulatory obstacle: China does not allow foreign manufacturers to build turbines of less than 1 megawatt. Why? Because foreign turbines are more price competitive in the 850 kilowatt range (only 15% more expensive) than in the 2 megawatt and larger range (30% more expensive). Foreign manufacturers nevertheless continue to compete in China because their turbines have a record of reliability that the less expensive Chinese machines cannot yet match.

Second example of a regulatory obstacle: The central government requires 70% of all turbine parts to be manufactured in China. Foreign manufacturers like Suzlon and Vestas have continued to compete by building Chinese parts factories.

4th in installed capacity, 2nd in new capacity. And rising. (click to enlarge)

COMMENTARY
Regulatory protection for China's manufacturers by the central government could be described as facilitating the maturation of China's domestic industry but not if it allows the homegrown industry to form non-competitive habits.

Foreign turbine makers have suggested Chinese manufacturers’ products beat foreign companies’ prices but are of uneven quality and significantly below international standards.

Beating the competition with low prices at the cost of reliability on billion dollar turbine investments is a short-term strategy. On the other hand, when the central government maneuvers foreign companies into building parts factories in China - where Chinese workers and middle management are trained to international standards - they are essentially creating de facto technology transfer that, in the long-term, will improve the quality of China's home grown industry.

Paulo Fernando Soares, the CEO of Suzlon Energy’s China division, says that China wind producers, in a rush to meet national government installed capacity goals, have sited turbines in ways that makes it impossible to obtain their fullest performance. Siting is a crucial factor in wind development. European and U.S. developers have learned that cutting corners is shortsighted thinking that costs in the long-term. The Chinese will learn this lesson, too.

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Is the central government's pressure to grow China's domestic capacity working? It is certainly putting pressure on foreign manufacturers. One company, that would not allow itself to be named, said if it had known when it expanded into the Chinese market in 2006 how rigorous things would be in 2009, it would not have made the move.

It is perhaps because China’s planners are aware of how valuable China is as a market for wind builders that it dares to make things daunting for wind industry manufacturers. Soares admits that despite all the regulatory obstacles Suzlon is happy to have access to a nation that just recently upped its 2020 installed capacity goal to 100 gigawatts. (See CHINA BUILDING NEW ENERGY WITH BOTH HANDS)

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QUOTES
- Paulo Fernando Soares, CEO China, Suzlon Energy: "I cannot say it's deliberate, but the facts show that no turbine suppliers from international companies established here have been selected…[T]he government can argue that the prices of international companies are too high compared to local companies. But nowhere in the world are projects evaluated on a yuan per kilowatt basis, because that takes away your performance, your quality, so nobody does it and no banker does it…”

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- Soares, on the quality and price of China’s turbines: “But in China they use the argument that turbine prices are coming down, but they forget to mention that there are issues with locally made turbines regarding performance, maintenance…Domestic producers are in a bubble and they're not forced to compete or innovate and they can't compete overseas right now."
- Yu Danke, Chief Financial Officer, Goldwind: "The policies are designed to level the playing field. My personal view is the policies are affirmative action…The customer has various needs -- lower end, higher end. Some focus on costs, some on service. You have to fit your products to customer needs."
- Soares, on why Suzlon persists in China: "There are things we don't like but the market is too significant…We may have lost market share but we have increased our market participation in terms of absolute numbers. We are happy with what we have got."